Culture of Child Martyrdom in Iran: Schoolchildren Vow to Commit Suicide Operations

Following are excerpts from a program on Schoolchildren's Day in Iran, which aired on IRINN TV on November 3, 2008.

Title: “13 Aban [November 3], Schoolchildren's Day and Great Marathon”

Interviewer: Did you run a lot?

Young boy: Yes.

Interviewer: Why did you come here today?

Young boy: I came to participate in the race.

Interviewer: Do you know why the 13th of Aban was selected?

Young boy: Because the martyr Hossein Fahmideh strapped a grenade on his back, and threw himself under a tank.

[...]

2nd boy: We came to this event to commemorate the martyr Hossein Fahmideh. He was a 13-year-old boy who threw himself under an enemy tank, and was martyred.

3rd boy: He martyred himself in order to save Iran.

4th boy: He was a 13-year-old boy who defended his country, for the sake of his people, his honor, and his principles.

Crowd chants: Death to Israel! Death to America!

[...]

5th boy: I learned that during the [Iran-Iraq] war, Hossein Fahmideh was my age. He sacrificed himself, and became a martyr, and now we have to prove to America that we too can sacrifice ourselves. We won't let them attack our country.

Interviewer: How about you?

6th boy: We must learn a lesson from him and confront the enemy. We must confront anybody who oppresses us.

7th boy: We need to be just like him when an enemy attacks us, by strapping grenades on our bodies, and sacrificing ourselves for our homeland.

[...]

4th boy: We, the students of the Basij, want to show the people of the world that we are always ready to follow the words of Imam Khomeini, who said: "If we number 60 million, we must have a 60 million strong army, and 60 million people ready for war." Therefore, we are always [ready] to show the people of the world that we want to stand alongside our beloved country, and that we will never let anyone take it from us.